Carroll Street MTA Plaza

This public project for a plaza outside the Carroll Street subway entrance addresses the dominant conditions on site – the movement of trains underneath and the flow of human traffic. A series of stacked corten planter boxes negotiate between elements of public and private space. Playing off the idea of sound and vibration generated by the trains, the fractured arrangement of corten boxes seem to visually vibrate in form. The bluestone plaza is activated by black granite paving inserts whose arrangement is reminiscent of an old graphic sound recording.

Drought tolerant plants are laid out in a geometric planting design, including large swaths of grasses and flowering perennials. The corten boxes are accented with five Japanese stewardia trees.

With a 3 million annual ridership flowing in and out of the Carroll Street subway stop, the public plaza is set to become a new iconic corner mediating between a historic Brooklyn neighborhood and the industrial nature of Gowanus.